Halophila ovalis | UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants

Taxa
Halophila ovalis | (R.Br.) Hook.f.
Publication
UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Plants
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Flowering Plants
Assessed taxon level
Species
Taxonomic Notes
This a member of the Halophila ovalis complex, which is under taxonomic review. Historically, other species currently considered to be in this complex may have been labelled as H. ovalis.
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Within the UAE, the species is known to occur in Abu Dhabi Emirate (Phillips et al. 2002) in addition to Dubai. The AOO of this species is estimated to be around 3,000 km<sup>2</sup> (H.S. Das pers. comm. 2019). The number of threat-based locations is estimated to be greater than ten, due to the multiple patches of seagrass found along the UAE coastline. The native range of this species spans from the Red Sea area to Madagascar and on to the Pacific (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This plant is a species of seagrass (Phillips et al. 2002). It can grow at depths of up to 14 m (H.S. Das pers. comm. 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Near Threatened
Assessment status abreviation
NT
Assessment status criteria
B2ab(iii)
Assessment rationale/justification
This seagrass species can be found along the coastlines of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The estimated AOO is around 3,000 km<sup>2</sup> and it is considered to occur at more than ten threat-based locations. Halophila ovalis is experiencing a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat due to multiple threats, such as dredging of coastlines for artificial island creation, oil related activities, pollution and climate change. Therefore, this species is assessed as Near Threatened.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
This species is particularly susceptible to coastal development but can recover quickly if disturbance ceases and conditions improve. It can also be affected by siltation and sedimentation (Short et al. 2010, Erftemeijer and Shuail 2012). In the UAE, the species is impacted by coastal dredging and land reclamation and development, fish trawling activities, oil spills and oil pollution, oil extraction developments, coastal water eutrophication and salinisation (from water desalination plants), siltation, and other forms of pollution (Erftemeijer and Shuail 2012). Given its shallow water habitat, this species may also be threatened by climate change and the associated increase in storm activity, water temperature, and/or sea-level rise (Short et al. 2010).
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Further information
History
Coastal development within the UAE has been increasing in frequency and intensity since 1996, reducing the extent and quality of available habitat for this species.
Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Halophila ovalis Plantae Tracheophyta Liliopsida Alismatales Hydrocharitaceae Halophila